The church of Venerable Sergiy of Radonezh in the Sergiyevsky skete of the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery was reopened today. It was built in 1795 on the grounds of an old cemetery in Arzamas and beautifully decorated by the eager efforts of V.P. Saltykov, a landowner from Vyezdnoye village, and his local serfs.

In the 1930s, the church in the village of Vyezdnaya Sloboda was closed, desecrated, and later used as a vegetable storehouse. During the Great Patriotic War, ammunition supplies were kept inside, while it later served as a repair shop and “Goskino” state movie storage facility.

In 1997, the church was handed over to the Seraphim-Diveyevo monastery. Initially, the only part restored was its refectory. But by the summer of 2020, the interior work, in addition to wall painting, was completed at its three-altar main church building. Now, on June 26, it was consecrated with the Divine Liturgy served for the first time at the newly consecrated altar.

Metropolitan Georgiy of Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas presided at the service.

In his hierarchical address, His Eminence remarked: “It is a moment of great joy and consolation for us that another holy site was restored and newly consecrated in the Arzamas area. This church was dedicated to Saint Sergiy of Radonezh, the Wonderworker of All Russia, who is known as Hegumen of all Russian lands and Russia’s conscience. Venerable Sergiy dedicated all of his life to serving God. Yet, as he grieved in his heart about his beloved country, he took part in its earthly affairs, too. How many times he exhorted the local princes to stop their in-fighting! He called them to awaken their conscience, sober up mentally, and be enlightened in their hearts. The centuries went by, but Venerable Sergiy never fails to remain a great standard of Christian life and love to the Motherland. I wish to believe that every believer would take to heart the venerable father’s words: “We will be saved by our faith, love, and unity.”